How do exciting design ideas turn into printed pieces that inspire and motivate people? What happens from the moment a graphic designer submits files right through to the moment the finished materials are ready to ship?

You can answer those questions in the classroom, says College of DuPage Graphic Design Professor Dave Rogers – but the best way for students to really understand modern print production is to see it in action.

ALitho print experts Larry McDermott and David Fisher teamed up with Rogers this fall to create a unique, hands-on experience for 60 students, sharing much of the detailed content we present to marketing professionals as part of American Litho University.

The evening tour started in our classrooms but moved right into the prepress suite and onto the production floor, where print teams working on direct mail campaigns, displays, catalogs and more helped answer their questions.

Seeing state-of-the-art equipment and workflows up close not only fills in students’ technical knowledge, but also reveals how print engages the senses and delivers layers of information that digital messages can’t, McDermott says. “This is where print-to-digital solutions start to come alive in their minds,” he says.

Student tours and training are part of American Litho’s commitment to supporting the casino games next generation of graphic designers.

“These are the young people whose out-of-the-box thinking will turn into brand-building solutions we haven’t even dreamed of yet,” says American Litho President Mike Fontana.